WVSU to Host Undergraduate Research Symposium

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) will host its annual Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program symposium Thursday, July 31, at 9 a.m. in Hamblin Hall on campus. The program provides summer learning opportunities to students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degrees.

Funded by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission's (HEPC) Division of Science and Research, SURE encourages promising and enthusiastic young researchers in the STEM fields by supporting opportunities to continue academic research during the summer months. Selected students receive a $3,500 stipend for a 10-week period, working with faculty members to continue research projects.

"The SURE Program is a great opportunity for undergraduates to learn first-hand about how scientific knowledge progresses," said Dr. Katherine Harper, chair of WVSU's Department of Biology. "Students who participate have a greater chance of staying in school and graduating."

Fourteen students, working with eight faculty members, participated in the 2014 SURE program and will present on their projects at the symposium.

In addition to HEPC support, the initiative was also funded through an award from the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Infrastructure Improvement Program.

West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi‐generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.